Kael Ashborne slept lightly.
That alone was new.
Ever since the awakening ceremony, sleep had been a battlefield—dreams of laughter turning into screams, of dirt crawling into his mouth while people pointed and laughed. Of fire he couldn't control and wings that tore themselves apart mid-flight.
But tonight, his eyes snapped open before the dream could even form.
Something was wrong.
The air felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Cinder was awake.
Not restless.
Alert.
Its body was coiled tightly at the foot of Kael's bed, ember-lines dimmed almost completely, obsidian scales blending into the darkness like a living shadow. Its head was lifted, eyes locked on the far wall.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kael didn't move.
He breathed slowly, controlling the spike of adrenaline threatening to send his heart racing.
Someone's here.
The System stirred, slower than usual.
[External interference detected.]
[Protective boundary absent.]
[Host status: vulnerable.]
Kael resisted the urge to curse.
"So that's how it is," he thought. "No warning alarms. No safety nets."
A faint sound reached his ears.
Metal.
Soft.
Controlled.
Someone shifting weight.
Kael's fingers twitched.
Cinder.
The creature didn't respond verbally—but something passed between them. A tension. A readiness.
Then—
The wall exploded inward.
Stone and dust blasted across the room as three figures crashed through the outer wall in perfect formation.
Black cloaks.
Masked faces.
Weapons already drawn.
Professionals.
Kael rolled off the bed just as a blade slashed through where his head had been. The mattress split cleanly in half.
"Target acquired," one of them said calmly.
Cinder moved.
Not with sound.
With intent.
Its body shot forward, faster than Kael had ever seen it move indoors. One assassin barely managed to react before Cinder slammed into his chest, throwing him through the shattered wall and out into the courtyard below.
The impact echoed like thunder.
The System flared.
[Host under lethal threat.]
[Combat synchronization elevated.]
[Warning: adversaries are human.]
Kael's jaw tightened.
"I know," he whispered. "That's what scares me."
The second assassin lunged.
Kael ducked, grabbing the overturned chair and swinging it wildly—not to hit, but to disrupt. The blade glanced off wood as Kael stumbled backward, heart pounding.
"I am not dying in my own room," he muttered.
The third assassin raised a hand.
A sigil flared.
Magic.
Luna's voice echoed faintly from somewhere outside. "KAEL—!"
Too far.
Too late.
The spell launched.
A compressed sphere of force shot toward Kael—
And stopped mid-air.
Cinder stood between them.
Its body glowed faintly, ember-lines blazing brighter than ever before. The force spell trembled, cracked, then shattered like glass.
The assassins froze.
"…What is that thing?" one whispered.
Cinder lifted its head.
And roared.
The roar wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
It carried weight.
Pressure.
Authority.
The assassin closest to Cinder staggered back, clutching his head as if struck by an invisible blow.
The System chimed, voice sharper than before.
[Draconic intimidation detected.]
[Effectiveness: abnormal.]
[Warning: hostile morale collapsing.]
Kael stared.
"…You can do that?"
Cinder didn't look at him.
It advanced.
The assassin panicked.
He slashed wildly, blade scraping uselessly across Cinder's scales. Sparks flew. The blade cracked.
Cinder struck.
One clean motion.
Its tail snapped forward, smashing into the man's torso. Bones shattered. The assassin flew backward, hitting the wall hard enough to leave a crater.
He didn't get up.
Silence fell.
The last assassin hesitated.
Kael saw it.
The doubt.
The fear.
And for the first time, Kael stepped forward.
"Run," Kael said quietly.
The assassin laughed shakily. "You think I can?"
Kael tilted his head. "No. I think you should have."
The assassin lunged.
Kael didn't dodge.
He moved with the motion, grabbing the man's wrist with both hands and twisting hard. Something snapped. The blade fell.
Cinder was already there.
Its jaws closed around the assassin's leg.
Not tearing.
Holding.
Waiting.
The man screamed.
Kael froze.
This was it.
The line.
The System spoke softly.
[Decision point reached.]
[Host hesitation detected.]
[Outcome will influence future evolution.]
Kael's hands trembled.
Human.
Enemy.
Alive.
If he let him go, more would come.
If he didn't—
Kael exhaled sharply.
"…Do it," he whispered.
Cinder obeyed.
The scream cut off abruptly.
Blood hit the floor.
Kael staggered back, chest heaving.
He didn't throw up.
He didn't cry.
He just stood there, staring.
"I…" His voice cracked. "I didn't even hate him."
The System chimed.
[First confirmed human kill by bonded beast.]
[Psychological impact: stabilized.]
[Warning: empathy retained.]
Cinder nudged Kael gently.
Warm.
Grounding.
Alive.
"…Thanks," Kael whispered hoarsely.
The door burst open.
Luna rushed in first, scales flaring instinctively, followed by Iris with flames already dancing in her palms, and Nyx—silent as death.
They froze.
Bodies.
Blood.
Cinder standing protectively in front of Kael.
Luna's eyes widened.
"…They sent assassins."
Kael nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Iris swore viciously. "Those bastards."
Nyx crouched near one of the bodies, inspecting the sigils embedded in the assassin's skin.
"…Noble branding," she said flatly. "High-tier."
Luna's expression darkened. "So it starts."
Kael sank onto the edge of the broken bed.
"I thought they'd wait," he admitted. "Build rumors. Ruin my name."
Nyx looked at him. "They tried that."
Iris snorted. "Didn't work."
Kael let out a shaky laugh. "Guess I skipped a few steps."
The System chimed again.
[Threat level escalated.]
[Host classified as destabilizing variable.]
[External suppression attempts likely to increase.]
Kael looked up.
"So that's it," he said. "I'm officially a problem."
Luna smiled grimly. "Welcome to the club."
Far away—
A crystal shattered in a noble's hand.
Reports were reread.
Witness accounts revised.
A beast described as "harmless" reclassified as unknown anomaly.
And deep beneath the world, something ancient stirred.
Not awake.
Not yet.
But aware.
The System whispered one final message only Kael could hear.
[Bond deepening.]
[Cinder cognition increasing.]
[Warning: emotional synchronization accelerating.]
Kael looked down at Cinder.
Its eyes met his.
Not like a pet.
Not like a weapon.
Like a partner.
"…We're really doing this," Kael said softly.
Cinder rumbled.
Agreement.